The first scene opens in the pantry with Richard Blaise and Mike Isabella reminiscing about Fabio Viviani. Mike Izzy says Fabio is an impressive guy and Richard says that Fabio turned him into a "Fabio Fan" - he wishes Fabio had asked him for help... Ahh... The bromance lives on. Carla brags about her win (just a little) and dreams of a woman winning Top Chef All Stars. I'd love to see that too, but I'm not getting my hopes up (just yet).

The chefs then move to the bar for cocktails and toast to the "Magnificent Seven". Richard and Dale agree to be allies until one of them goes home or they make it to the end. Please let this treaty end next week!!

Quickfire Challenge
The chefs walk into the kitchen to find Padma Lakshmi rhyming with Cookie Monster, Telly Monster and Elmo. Padma tells the chefs that they have 45 minutes to make their best cookies. The winner will take home $5,000.

-The chefs are a bit lost since none have honed their cookie-making skills. Really? My baking skills suck and even I know how to whip up chocolate chip cookies.

-Richard Blais decides to make the zucchini cookie that Elmo wanted. It's clear that he's aiming to impress his 2-year-old daughter's idol, and I totally respect that. But have you noticed that he seems to be going a bit overboard lately?

Elimination Challenge
This week’s elimination prize is $25,000! The chefs have 3 hours at Target to shop for the items they need. Then they have to serve a meal for 100 Target employees the next day. Then the show seems to convert into a target commercial for a couple minutes – which I think we could have done without, since the entire show pretty much is a Target commercial.

The chefs arrive at Target just past midnight and go zooming down the aisles with their carts gathering all the appliances, utensils, food and furniture they think they’ll need.

-Dale makes rude comments about Tiffany as he shops for irons.

-Antonia pretty much grabs everything.

-Angelo and Mike shop together. Gotta love the bromance

-Tiffany shops for clothes as she shops for food.

-The chefs begin cooking… But Carla is still shopping. She finally joins the group after everyone else is already well on their way. Richard shows concern for her (but I think he’s just secretly threatened by her).

-The judges aren’t so impressed with everyone’s dishes – Anthony Bourdain thinks the chefs toked up the cheeba before they started cooking. And EVERYONE seems unhappy about the early hour.

The Elimination…

Padma walks in and announces that the judges would like to see: Dale, Antonia & Richard.

And the winner is… Dale again! When was the last time we saw a Top Chef win both the Quickfire AND Elimination in a single episode? I can’t remember.

Farewell, Angelo. It shoulda been the other way around.

The chefs are sent back and tell Carla, Tiffany & Angelo that the chefs would like to see them. The three face the judges and an endless barrage of insults: Carla’s dish didn’t develop and needed protein, Angelo’s soup was too salty, and the dried spices Tiffany used highlighted her dish’s deficiencies. And then Padma says:

“Angelo, please pack your knives and go.”

Mike Isabella is far more crushed that Angelo is being sent home than Angelo is – he’s lost his friend. Another bromance comes to a close.

And I would personally like to emphasize my own disappointment. It’s impressive that Dale won both challenges, though $25k for a grilled cheese and tomato soup sounds fishy. But seriously, he is a rude dude. And the same goes for Antonia. I know this is reality TV and some people like the drama, but then nix those two and bring Marcel back. He’s double-dipped in arrogance, but he’s entertaining as hell!